So between yesterday's assassination attempt on the Basotho Prime Minister and the recent arrest of a Boston University medical student on murder and kidnapping charges, I have decided that living at a convent is extra nice.
We are in no danger in Leribe and the only signs of strange things afoot (besides the pieced-together gossip of my nursing buddies) is that my prisoner patient was whisked back to the prison against medical advice to consolidate the guard forces and the physical therapy unit (usually staffed by soldiers) is out of commission for a while. Here's the little that the BBC published: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/country_profiles/8013432.stm
As for the BU student: I recognized his face vaguely but don't know him and don't have or expect any inside information from this distance. http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/m/philip_markoff/index.html?inline=nyt-per
Unfortunately, because of some combination of the South African elections and the recent Maseru violence, we may not be able to rent a car to go surfing in Coffee Bay this weekend. Boo.... Plan B is a trip up to Golden Gate park and the town of Clarens in Free State (the SA district just North of here). Either way we should be able to find a big grocery store to get cream cheese and fresh coffee. Oh yeah, and enjoy nature too. I'm finding myself antsy to get out of dodge for a little break after spending last weekend (then happily) here at home.
Weather: it's getting a little chilly here. We wear fleeces on the walk to work, I sleep in a zipped sleeping bag with a light blanket on top, and I no longer want to drink my morning coffee out front. After two overcast days it was back to mostly sunny today, though, so I can handle almost any temperature.
The male ward has been populated by a really nice mix of patients for the last little while. I have one man with congestive heart failure, advanced AIDS, and abdominal TB; one with a stroke which gave him a "fluent aphasia" where he talks clearly about nonsense; one with suspected Mandrax poisoning (local term for quualudes) who is slowly coming out of his stupor; one young guy WITHOUT HIV who is just waiting to pay his bill and go home to celebrate his resolved abdominal pain which followed drinking fresh-from-the-teat cow's milk; a new guy with heart failure who was transferred from a smaller hospital (hah!) so we could do an EKG and echocardiogram. Nice mix. Me Lesowane, the nurse I've been working so happily with for the past couple weeks is going on vacation for a week and then moving to night shift. I'm pretty sad that I won't get to work with her anymore. I can't AT ALL believe that next Friday is my last day at Motebang and --holy crapperoo-- my last day of medical school!
I'm looking forward to going to Semonkong, trying to get tickets to a rugby or soccer match nearby, and getting myself to Kruger if possible. It'll be nice to have that week off before flying home.
Sorry, no pics today.
p.s. Hey Cilver Cerfer: I took no offense. I meant "critic" in the "critical thinker" or "book critic" kind of way.
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